I am an entrepreneur, consultant and PR junkie. Hailing from the UK, I co-founded Vested (www.fullyvested.com) an integrated communications firm for the financial sector. I write regularly on entrepreneurship as well as corporate communications issues, particularly in the financial field. I am a columnist for PRNews and often serve as a judge for various industry awards, including the PR Platinum Awards and the Financial Communications Society Portfolio Awards. When I am not writing for Forbes, you can find me working with major financial firms or leading media relations and client management classes at MediaBistro.

5 Startup Tips From Jennie Enterprise, CEO And Founder, CORE

A quintessential entrepreneur builds the perfect haven for entrepreneurs and offers lessons for us all…

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the charming, elegant and insanely driven Jennie Enterprise, founder and CEO of the ultra-exclusive CORE: club in mid-town Manhattan. Home to an array of personalities from billionaire tech CEOs all the way down to mere millionaires from the world of fashion film and finance, CORE: founding members include Blackstone chairman, Stephen Schwarzman, real estate mogul, Steven Roth and agent to the stars (and Entourage inspiration), Ari Emanuel. Our interview took place in Jennie’s “office,” which also happens to be the best corner table at the club’s second floor dining room.

For a woman who’s never taken orders in her life – she established her first business at 13 – Jennie was the perfect hostess, making sure I was well fed, watered and generally taken care of throughout our interview. It’s easy to see why the great and the good flock to CORE as a sanctuary of peace and beauty in the middle of this uncompromising city.

For those with shorter spans of attention, I’ve included a summary of Jennie’s advice up front – but see below for a larger slice of the interview.

Jennie Enterprise’s five steps to entrepreneurial success:

1. If you want your idea to succeed you have to be fanatically obsessive about it

There’s a chance others may view you as delusional, there’s a strong likelihood that your version of reality will differ from the established view, but for your idea to succeed you need a complete commitment, an obsessive commitment, a fanatical commitment to the mission and a notion that your view of the world is one that needs to be to pursued.

2. Couple velocity with reflection

MoveMove fast and with unshakable determination in the pursuit of your vision, but make sure to pause once in a while and stress test the heart and soul of your mission.

3. Ask the right questions:

Part of this reflection exercise is to make sure you’re asking the right questions. Never wonder whether you can do it and never ask anyone else if they think you can do it! Ask them instead, “how can I optimize the value of what I’m creating?” So I would always want to understand how CORE: could make a difference in somebody’s life. Ask them what isn’t working in their lives currently, ask them what will make their lives better, ask them how they think about their lives within the context of your idea. This will help you reflect and evolve your vision.

4. The idea is important but inspiration and execution are more important:

There are three components to implementing a successful idea: the strength of the idea itself, inspiring others to buy into it, and executing against the idea. Ultimately you need a little bit of all three but the underlying idea is actually the least important piece. You can have the strongest idea in the world, but it’s meaningless without meticulous execution and people who are motivated by the mission and want to be a part of it.

5. Success comes with peripheral vision. Be humble and have a sense of humor:

Yes you need to be obsessive, yes you need to be fanatical, but you also need empathy and fundamental kindness. Simple as it may sound, you cannot overstate the importance of being nice, staying humble and having a sense of humor. This will get you and your team through the hard times when it may be difficult for those around you to stay positive.

Check out more of Jennie’s insights and wisdom below:

Dan Simon: What was your inspiration for starting this business?

Jennie Enterprise: I seem to have a predisposition for business models where I can unleash the magic of emotional engagement. As I found success in this space, I continued to move in the direction of subscriptions and memberships. I believe that if you are ultimately and authentically passionate about what you’re doing and that enthusiasm is contagious, you can essentially deliver against any need. I have always been captured by the imagination of bringing a sense of community through interesting spaces, compelling programming, and inspired food and beverage platforms. There are these elements of activating other people and creating a level of happiness and in many ways of seamlessness to their lives that I feel is important. I think the ultimate inspiration for many of the businesses that I created is what I call “experiential architecture.”

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